NEPTUNE, NJ–On Monday night, GMC Hoops traveled down to the Hoop Group Headquarters for the second night of action in the fall league being held there. Two GMC teams in the league this year, East Brunswick and Old Bridge, were in action. EB played first during the 8:00 PM hour as the Bears took on St. Rose of Belmar. Old Bridge followed with a contest against Manasquan at 9:00 PM. Cardinal McCarrick played Colts Neck earlier in the evening.
Bears Defeat St. Rose 43-32 To Improve To 2-0
For the first time this fall, GMC Hoops got to see the East Brunswick Bears in action. The Bears, which this site had put down as originally losing to Neptune on opening night, was looking to stay undefeated, and get its second victory of the fall in a contest against St. Rose of Belmar. The Purple Roses were coming off a close victory over its regular season division rival, Asbury Park. The Bears depth proved to be too much for the Roses as EB pulled away for a 25-19 halftime advantage with an 18-13 showing in the game’s final 20 minutes for the 43-32 victory.
After trailing by six at the break, St. Rose got on the board first with a basket while being fouled at the 19:44 mark. The Purple Roses missed the bonus free throw, and EB led by four at 25-21. Avi Oren got the Bears going with a three pointer from the left wing at the 19:09 mark for a 28-21 edge. Forty-six seconds later, St. Rose countered with a three pointer of their own for a 28-24 Bears lead at the 18:23 mark. East Brunswick responded though with a a layup at the 16:27 mark, and then an Oren steal led to a pull-up jumper that got a kind bounce for a 32-24 advantage with 16:08 remaining.
St. Rose got a score to close within six again before Bobby Fullem drew a foul underneath for a one of two showing from the charity stripe, and a 33-26 lead for East Brunswick with 14:32 left. The Purple Roses continued to hang around though by making two foul shots at the 12:56 mark for a 33-28 score. Rob Ukawuba got on the board for EB by making one of two from the charity stripe at the 12:18 mark for a 34-28 lead. Dan Sclafani then inbounded to Fullem for a layup, and a 36-28 lead with 11:04 remaining. Following a St. Rose timeout at the 10:45 mark, Ukawuba swiped a steal for a layup while being fouled, and made the bonus free throw for a traditional three point play, and a 39-28 lead with 10:29 left. St. Rose then got a score, and drew a charge on Ukawuba with 8:23 to play, but the Purple Roses couldn’t take advantage.
East Brunswick eventually was able to get a basket in transition as Anthony Guisti dished to Ukawuba on the break for a layup, and a 41-30 lead with 6:36 to go. The Purple Roses, which had a scoreless drought of about seven and a half minutes down the stretch, didn’t get on the board again until the 1:28 mark thanks to a jumper from the left side, but Joe Ross sealed the Bears 43-32 victory with a floater at the 1:14 mark. With the win, EB improved to 2-0 on the fall while St. Rose dropped to 1-1.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Brunswick (2-0) | 25 | 18 | 43 |
| St. Rose (1-1) | 19 | 13 | 32 |
Another Strong Second Half Lifts Old Bridge To Victory Over Manasquan, 60-46
In the nightcap at 9:00 PM, Old Bridge faced off against Manasquan over on the Knicks Court. Both teams came into the second week of play at 1-0 with Old Bridge defeating Freehold Township (46-23) thanks to a strong second half surge while the Big Blue of Manasquan chalked up their first victory of the fall with a win over Central Regional. The Knights did a similar thing for the win this week with a 31-18 showing in the second half to pull away from a 29-28 lead to defeat Manasquan by a score of 60-46. For the game, Old Bridge shot 22 of 55 from the floor for 40 percent including 4 of 15 from beyond the arc while Manasquan shot only 17 of 45 for 38 percent including 7 of 22 from long distance. OBHS went 12 of 16 from the charity stripe while Manasquan was just 6 of 7.
The Knights won the turnover battle (8-14), and took advantage with a 13-2 edge in points off of turnovers. Rebounding was much more even in this game with Old Bridge getting a slight edge (25-24) including an 11-9 showing on the offensive glass. The Knights also cashed in on their offensive boards with an 8-4 edge in second chance points. In other statistical areas, Old Bridge had more assists (15-8), steals (9-3), and blocks (5-3). Neither team drew a charge. The duo of sophomore forward, Sultan Aminu, and junior forward, Isaiah Velez, combined for 40 percent of the Knights offense. Aminu was only 3 of 6 from the floor, but also went 7 of 8 from the foul line for 13 points along with 6 rebounds, a steal, and a block. Velez struggled a bit from the floor, but made four field goals, and clicked on 3 of 4 from the line for 11 points along with 6 boards, a steal, and a block.
In the first half, the Knights were much better than they were in the week one victory over Freehold Township. Old Bridge connected on 12 of 29 shots from the floor for 41 percent including 1 of 9 from beyond the arc while Manasquan was 10 of 26 from the floor for 38 percent. Half of the Big Blue’s shooting (5 of 13) was from long range though, and that kept them in the game. The Knights also got plenty of support from other players in the victory. Manasquan started the game out strong with an 8-0 run over just the first 1:32 as the Big Blue connected on 3 of 4 from the floor including 2 of 2 from three point land. Old Bridge didn’t get on the board until the 17:26 mark when Aminu drew a foul, and made both free throws for an 8-2 Manasquan lead. The Shore Conference school then scored the next four points including two free throws at the 16:39 mark, and a putback off a block by Aminu at the 15:49 mark.
Following an Old Bridge timeout, Aminu got the Knights going with a layup underneath from the right side at the 15:35 mark. It was the first field goal of the game for Old Bridge, but it was soon followed by a Velez drive for a layup at the 15 minute mark that made the score 12-6. Manasquan quickly countered with a three pointer from the right side that sparked an 11-4 tear over a span of just 3:15 for a 23-10 lead. Capping the spurt was a traditional three point play at the 11:45 mark. From that point on though, Old Bridge outscored the Big Blue by a margin of 19-5 to take a one point lead at the intermission. Velez got things started with a layup as he was fouled at the 8:55 mark. The junior missed the bonus free throw, but the Knights would get a steal on defense that would lead to a three pointer from the left corner at the 8:07 mark for a 23-17 Manasquan advantage.
Over the next 1:29, OBHS got four more points including a layup by Velez for an 11-0 run, and a 23-21 Manasquan lead with 6:38 to go in the first half. Manasquan then reeled off five straight points to end its first half scoring for a 28-21 lead before Old Bridge struck back with four straight points of their own that closed the gap to 28-25 with 2:43 left in the half. Aminu then pulled the Knights within one with two from the foul line for a 28-27 score at the 1:59 mark, and a teammate gave Old Bridge the lead on a spin move for a layup with 40 seconds left in the half for a 29-28 nailbiter at the intermission. It was the first Knights lead of the entire game to this point. Velez led Old Bridge with 6 points on 3 of 6 shooting from the floor while also collecting 3 rebounds and a block in the first half. The second half saw the Knights take over with another strong effort.
OBHS began the final 20 minutes with a 4-1 run to take a 33-29 edge before Manasquan made two free throws at the 17:45 mark for a 33-31 score. The Big Blue then took the lead on a three pointer at the 16:05 mark that made the score, 34-33. Velez responded with a basket for a 35-34 Knights lead with 15:38 to go. The Velez bucket sparked a 14-2 tear over the next 8:08 for a nine point lead. The Knights made one of two from the line at the 13:18 mark for a 36-34 lead, scored five of seven points over a 3:03 stretch including a layup by Aminu at the 10:15 mark for a 41-36 lead, got a three pointer from the left wing at the 9:20 mark for a 44-36 edge, and then Velez made one of two from the foul line, and a layup off a steal for a 47-36 advantage with 7:30 remaining. Old Bridge then outscored Manasquan 13-10 the rest of the way including two free throws by Aminu at the 2:38 mark to finish off the 60-46 win.
With the victory, Old Bridge improves to a surprising 2-0 on the fall while Manasquan drops to .500 at 1-1.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Bridge (2-0) | 29 | 31 | 60 |
| Manasquan (1-1) | 28 | 18 | 46 |
GMC Hoops was back out at the Hoop Group Headquarters on September 27th to see Cardinal McCarrick take on Monsignor Donovan in an 8:00 PM game.